The Lakes Barcelo Golf Course

This course is well designed and used to be well maintained and run by golf professional; no longer true. My entire group was very disappointed.

The Greens were in excellent condition. The fairways
had a few bare spots, but for the most part the condition was very good.

It was a decent course, traps were a little hard and gravelly.

The Lakes is the golf course located on the property of Barcelo Bavaro Palace Hotel. Barcelo Bavaro is an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I played this course 6 days in a row from 4/10 to 4/15.

PACE: My review is going to biased as I was one of the first golfers off the tee each morning I played. As such, none of my rounds took more than 3.5 hours. That being said, I did see players out on the course in the late morning/early afternoon and the pace seemed to slow a bit. I had an excellent experience with pace of play, but understand how this course could play slow (see Layout comments).

CONDITIONS: Being mid-April I could see how the course would be in great shape during their prime season, and how the course was starting to lose some quality with the hotter days. The grounds team did a great job of laying down sand and watering areas that were degrading. That being said, the greens were great, the bunkers were maintained, and the fairways and tee boxes were in good shape.

STAFF: I found the staff at The Lakes to be very helpful and accomodating. Even out on the course, the grounds crew was very considerate and friendly. The starter and guys working in the golf cart shed are fantastic!

VALUE: If you're staying at the Barcelo Bavaro resort, a round costs $75 American. If you purchase a 4-pack, you'll get a discount down to $60 per round. Not sure this is policy (though I hope it is/it should be) but for my 5th and 6th rounds they still charged me the $60 rate (not $75) because I had purchased the 4-pack. Thank you... I appreciate this.
If you're not staying on this property the rates go up considerably. Given the conditions and layout of this course, it is absolutely a $60/round course. Not sure I would play here if I was staying somewhere other than Barcelo Bavaro.

LAYOUT: Excellent! A great combination of fun and challenging. First off, each hole sits on its own (i.e., you cannot hit your drive off one tee and onto another hole's fairway). As such, although the fairways are plenty wide, the trees and water make the course feel much tigher than it actually is (which is why I think slow play could be a "thing" here). Second, the course is designed really well. Long holes are wider and give you more room to miss... and shorter holes demand more accuracy from your shots. Enjoy the "Mountain of Bunkers" in front of the green on #5; all of the par 3s are picture-worthy; say "Hi" to the peacocks on #14; go for the green on #15; and good luck making par on #17!

AMENITIES: Barcelo Bavaro is an all-inclusive resort/hotel. So when the cart person comes around, and assuming your a hotel gues, you get all the pop and beer you care to enjoy. :)

Only negative: the driving range. During my visit they were slow to get balls out for players. It would be nice to see pyramid stacks of balls (they have the molds, I saw them) already out on the in the morning ready for golfers to warm up.

Overall, I'm going back in 2024. I'm staying for more nights and plan to up my rounds played from 6 to 8-10.

Course conditions not maintained well.
Club rentals old old sets not worth even $10.00 per set. We paid $ 480 totlle with the taxi ride and $65 for lunch. What a waste

The golf course is nice and the layout is good. The yardage markers were off by approximately 10-15 yards. The golf cart was dangerous. The brakes did not work. The steering was out of line. I told the staff and the response was “it’s ok”. Another staff member told me he is bringing a new cart on hole 4. It never happened. The staff and management have room for improvement.

Barcelo Lakes surpassed my expectations. Well designed and maintained course will test skill at every level. Good value at US$75 cart fee or US$ 240 prepaid four rounds for resort guests. Higher than this fee would start questioning value. Hot during late morning afternoon but nice ocean breeze and limited humidity makes it comfortable. Played three rounds enjoyed each would come back to play again.

Inland course, very nice layout and scenery with more palm trees and lakes. Not long. Maintenance good. Average size green with no collar and easy contouring. Average speed. Some had repaired spots.
Pre-show lady very polite but rider and club rental fees outrageous. Starter staff indifferent and slow.
Minimal beverage included but no cart on course and no food anywhere.

Amazing course! I had a blast. The rental clubs were great!

It’s a nice course but it’s a little bit too hard with many hazards. You better bring your A game.

Nice course , would play again, staff was great, need to do maintenance on their carts.

Took 5 hours. Apparently this is usual at this course and sometimes longer.

Very good course, it is much better than other many expensive courses in Punta Cana